


Little Clem

by Queen_Clem



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Geo - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-06 11:20:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18850048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_Clem/pseuds/Queen_Clem
Summary: Ed and Diana were two people in their twenties, discussing the idea of a child when the world went to shit, now eight years into the apocalypse and desperate, they must raise their three year old daughter Clementine. A weak rope ended their journey, however, and their daughter was left to wander the woods alone. Until a certain group of school kids come to her rescue.





	1. Chapter 1

Ed sighed as he adjusted the mirror to look in the back seat of their car. Diana was turned in her seat, playing i spy with the little girl that sat in a ragged car seat. Clementine was babbling and pointing out of the window. 

He smiled, but worry still wormed its way through him, the saggy shirt his little girl was wearing did nothing to hide her protruding ribs. They were running low on food and so far, there had been nowhere to scavage any. Reaching over, he grabbed their last bag of chips and spoke.

"Hey sweetheart, are you hungry?" He waved the bag enhancingly behind the seat. The little girl squealed happily and grabbed the bag, sticking her chubby hands into it to grab at the crumbling cheese puffs. 

Diana grinned at her before turning in her seat. She looked at the empty bag in the floorboard and her eyebrows creased together "That's about all we have, isn't it?" She asked. 

Ed didn't meet her eyes "We'll find more soon." He replied, Diana looked back at their sweet girl who had finished the small snack and was looking out the window. She hoped so.

A short while later, the car rolled to a stop outside of a worn down railroad stop. Ed parked the car and looked at his wife before turning back to Clementine 

"Sweetie," he called getting the toddlers attention, "Crawl in the floor board under the seats, mommy and daddy will be back in a little bit okay?" He spoke slowly, his daughter nodded and reached her hands forward. 

"Uhm!" she grunted "Teddy, mommy!" Diana smiled and grabbed the small teddy bear that Jane had gotten for Clementine when she was a newborn, handing it to her and unbuckling the restraints to let her crawl down.

Reaching down, both the parents gave her a kiss on the head for luck. A few moments later as they prepared, Ed noticed a pudgy hand reaching ever so slowly for his favorite hat "Here, Clem, you can borrow this until we get back." Ed smiled as he handed the blue and white cap over. 

Clementine excitedly put the hat on and hunkered down under the seats. Diana watched her fondly before her voice became serious. "Rules, dear."

"Never trust strangers at first, only go alone if you have too, when the monsters come run and hide or shoot them in the head." A little voice sounded from under the seats. 

Diana relaxed some, "Good girl Clem." Grabbing her pistol, she opened her door and got out, Ed followed her slowly. Both stood outside the gate and looked at the sign before Diana shrugged and walked around the gates quietly. 

The two moved forward to inspect the station, being cautious as they heard the hollow groans of the dead from within. Ed rasied his arm as a walker stood and motioned Diana to go around it, she nodded.

Moving around the barrels she kicked it's knee forward, quickly dodging backwards as it moved to swipe at her. Ed lunged forward and swung his lucky pry bar down, crushing the flesh eaters head in. He groaned as he stretched his arm back "That's not getting any easier." He grinned, 

Diana scoffed amusingly at him "We're not that old, probably just in our thirties." 

Ed shook his head at her "Lies, I am an old man, see my cane?" He held up the pry bar. Diana rolled her eyes with a smile "Alright old man, use your cane to open up that door then."

Ed nodded and hopped up on the porch, shoving his 'cane' in and pulling until the door burst open. He shuddered as the hungry groans started up with a vengeance. 

Diana peeked around him and gagged at the sight infront of them, two walkers were tied to chairs, weakly thrusting their arms out to try and get at the couple. Ed wrapped an arm around her as she turned away from the scene before he moved forward to pick up the old notepad laying on the ground infront of them.

He bent to grab it and as his fingers brushed the yellow pages, a snap sounded. 

Ed's blood ran cold as a heavy weight fell on top of him, harsh jaws digging into his neck while rotting fingers tore through his clothes to the sensitive flesh on his back. "Dia.." he gurgled out, choking as warm blood filled his windpipe. 

No, he couldn't die yet! He needed to protect his wife and girl, they needed him to be there! But there was no stopping the darkness that swam infront of his eyes, he collapsed, head clashing on the ground. The last thing he saw was his beautiful wife's face twisted in horror before the shadows consumed him.

Diana stared at the scene in shock. There was just no way, he had been talking and joking with her just a moment ago. Healthy, alive, not being chewed on by a walker with a torn apart neck. 

Her body moved before her mind registered it, grabbing her husband's beloved pry bar, she began to bash the walker to the ground. Hitting it over and over again as she sobbed, her arms began to burn, muscles aching from the repeated motion. 

She lifted her arms one last time and felt a sharp pain in her side. Ripping herself to away and moving behind the chairs, Diana stared in terror down at her torn shirt, which had blood seeping through. She looked up to find what had bitten her.

The female walker was limping toward her, intent on a second bite. For a moment, Diana considered just letting it finish her but then Clementine's face flashed in her mind. No. 

She needed to say goodbye, and if it killed her, then in a few hours, a curious toddler would shuffle in looking for her mommy and daddy only to find their gnawed on walker forms itching for a snack. Diana raised the crowbar and kicked the walkers knee out before bringing it down on its head and watching it split in half.

Grunting, Diana limped toward the body of her husband, she pulled her pistol and stared at the stirring mass of her love, she wanted to pretend that it was actually him getting up and not a walker that wore his face. She took aim, closed her eyes and turned her head away.

Clemintine jumped as she heard a bang echo from the house her mommy and daddy were in. _'Musta been a walker.'_ She thought, unconcerned with the sound. 

Lifting her teddy, she lowered her voice and wiggled him "Mommy and daddy get them!" She said for Teddy. She hugged him to her chest, he was the only thing from lost people she had left. Mommy had told her that she use to have a backpack full of reminders of people in heaven now. 

A teddy from Jane, a hat from Kenny, a picture of Lee, a shirt from Christa, and a doll from Omid. The backpack had been lost a year and a half ago, swarmed in a herd that took Christa and AJ. 

The back door opened and Clementine jumped, gripping her screw driver tightly. She almost shrieked when a hand came into view before her mommy's face followed it. She looked pale and sick as she reached to pick Clementine up from under the seat, sitting in the car doorway and simply cradling her.

"Daddy?" She asked, looking up to her sickly mother. Diana choked on her words for a moment, looking down at her innocent daughter. 

"Daddy's in heaven now sweetie." She rasped, Clementine stared up at her mommy in confusion. Daddy wasn't in heaven, she had watched him go into the house herself! 

She furrowed her little brows at her mommy "Daddy's in house." She declared, trying to wiggle to the ground to go get him. 

Mommy's grip tighten "No Clemintine, he's dead like Christa. His soul went to heaven." Clementine's amber eyes filled with tears as she came to as much of a conclusion as her young mind could handle. Daddy wasn't coming back.

"But I want him!" She wailed, burying her face in her mommy's shoulder. Diana rocked her little girl for a while before she took a deep breath, pushing her shoulders and making Clementine look up at her. 

"Sweetie, do you remember what i told you about the walkers?" Clementine sniffled as Diana gently brushed her tears away before nodding. 

"Mhm, get bit and you die." Diana flinched at the sentence. The word die should never be in a baby's vocabulary but the world was cruel and the rose tinted glasses had to be ripped away young if you wanted the child to live.

"Well sweetie, Mommy got bit trying to help daddy." She whispered. 

Clementine immediately began to look her over, searching for the wound "I kiss it, make it better." She said stubbornly. 

Closing her eyes at what she was about to do, Diana let a few tears streak down her face. "No honey, kisses won't make this better. I need you to get my bag, it has all our supplies and you need to leave. I don't want you to see me like one of them." 

Clementine didn't understand, when she cut herself mommy had said a kiss would make it all better, why didn't she want to get better?

"I stay with you." She whimpered, burrowing closer to her guardian. Diana hugged her one last time, memorizing the way her curls felt, the gentle curve of her face, the comforting warmth she had. After all, this was her last chance to do so. 

She set the toddler on her feet, pulling the much too big backpack onto her shoulders and briefly hesitated before placing her pistol in the girls tiny hands. She slipped the pry bar into the backpack and looked down at her girl.

"No, you're gonna go on now. Don't come back here, don't shoot that gun unless you can't run or hide anymore, and honey, please, please try to find a group." Diana ordered hoarsly, she was aware she was sending her daughter to what would most likely be her death, but it was better than here where it was certain. 

Clutching her teddy, Clementine looked up a the yellow tinted woman and began to cry before slowly beginning to back away. 

Diana watched her until she disappeared into the woods, then she shut the car door, locking it just to be sure, and settled down to reminisce as her fever began to rise.

~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~

Clemintine stumbled through the woods, sweating and panting. She had been running around for hours, with the hot sun beating down on her and the groans of the dead driving her from one place to another. 

She collapsed against a nearby tree, shedding her mommy's backpack to pull a water bottle free. As she slowly sipped at the cool water, she noticed a squeaking coming from the other side of tree. Curiously, she peeked her head around.

A small bunny hung from a rope, it's body wriggling side to side frantically as it tried to escape. _'Poor bunny! Why would someone do something so mean?'_ She thought before pushing herself to her sore feet and reaching up a hand to see if she could help it. 

As she stretched to reach to the rope tied around the tree, a wet thump sounded. Confused at the unfamiliar sound she looked up and let out a shriek at the sight of a pointy stick poking through the bunnys head. A few voices reached her ears and she hunkered down, not wanting to be caught by such bullies.

"Great shot Marlon!" A drone voice congratulated, trailing from the bushes. 

"Thanks, almost thought I was gonna miss with it wiggling so much." Another replied. A heavy thunk sounded beside her and she peeked an eye open, looking at the strange metal thing that sat beside the tree. 

She had never seen something like that before, and it was so pretty! She leaned out to touch it, and pull it closer. Just as her little fingers wrapped around it, a final voice boomed.

"Well looky what we have here fellas!" Clementine jerked back, hiding behind her tree once more. 

"Louis what the hell?!" Marlon said harshly, "You'll bring every walker in five miles here!" 

The voice, Louis, spoke up once more "Walkers would be a catastrophe for you two, you didn't even notice the worlds smallest deadhead trying to get around that tree." He taunted. 

A beat of silence passed before the drone voice spoke again "I don't hear any growling or shuffling." He scolded. Louis laughed and Clementine froze as footsteps began to move toward her hiding place. 

"Tis a simple solution my dear Aasim, it's a mute crawler." Louis replied. Clementine's heart beat faster and faster as the footsteps closed in, she wanted to run but her body felt frozen. Her face twisted in terror a moment before a young teen jumped around the tree. 

Her eyes stretched wide in horror and she felt her skirt wetten as she saw a large branch posed to swing down on her head. Not noticing the look of confusion then shock on the boys face, she began to wail in earnest, scrambling to half hide behind her backpack.

Louis couldn't believe his eyes. Eight years. It had been eight years since the world went to hell. There was just no way he was staring at a kid, a real honest to god baby all alone in the woods. 

A baby that was currently cowering in tears away from him. "Lou, the hells over there?!" Aasim whisper-shouted at him, he held up his hand in a gesture for them to be quiet and stay there. Quickly dropping Chairles, he kneeled down and held out a hand to the girl. She looked up at him with terror-filled wet amber eyes.

"Hey there, I'm so sorry, did i scare you?" He spoke softly as he moved to sit criss cross on the ground. 

The little girl hiccuped and nodded, he shook his head at her sadly, "Aw, i didn't mean too, i thought you were one of those bad deadheads. You know those?" Again the child nodded, "I don't like them, they're meanies." He spoke in mock offended voice. 

The girls face grew serious and she nodded her head firmly as if she couldn't agree more. Louis laughed, then pointed at her supplies " Well, i promise I'm not a meanie. Do did your group give you that?" Another slow nod.

"Well if you tell me where they are, i'll take you back to them. Wouldn't that be nice? I can tell you a few stories on the way there." He spoke enticingly, trying to lure her out from behind her backpack. 

The girl began to shuffle forward a bit and Louis smirked as he went in for the kill "I've got a nice snack to go with it if you tell me." He pulled the dried rabbit meat from his jacket and waved it around. 

The girl twitched before lunging forward, ripping the meat away from him and shoving it into her mouth. "Hey! Hey! Slow down!" He cautioned worriedly, the girl froze as he reached toward her, curling around her chunk protectivly. "You'll choke." He explained.

The girl didn't get any closer but did start to chew slower before swallowing, Louis stood slowly and moved forward. 

She tensed as he lifted her but didn't struggle, he wrinkled his nose but felt immensely guilty at the sight and smell of her wet skirt. "I really did scare you didn't I?" He mumbled, he set her back down and picked up the backpack, quickly fishing out some new clothes. 

A pink pair of leggings with a purple tutu along with a black shirt with a white stars on it. He quickly peeled off her soiled clothes and changed her before tossing the clothes in the bag and swinging it over his shoulder, bending down to grab the girl again.

Clemintine looked up at the boy then, deciding he was decent, began to gnaw on her food again. 

She was unconcerned with his movement until they started walking around the tree. "No!" She cried up to him, whapping him on the face as the two other boys gasped at the sight of her. 

Louis looked down at her blankly, "Why must you wound me so?" 

Clementine glared at the two teens and pointed an accusing finger at them "Meanies hurt bunny!" She said. The two boys stared at her with strange looks, their faces turning red while they bit their lips. 

"No, no, the bunny is just sleeping. It'll be fine in a few hours." Marlon told her gently. She didn't believe him, but simply turned her head away refusing to look at them. 

Aasim coughed "So uh, where's your group kid?" Clementine tensed, burying her head into Louis' shoulder. The three boys froze as a single word left her mouth .

"Heaven." She sniffled. 

The three looked at her with pity, Marlon spoke "Isn't there anyone left?" The toddler shook her head. 

"Mommy got bit." Marlon rubbed his hands over his face before sighing and looking at the others. 

He opened his mouth but Louis beat him to it "Oh oh, Marlon, can we keep her then?" He smiled, batting his lashes pleadingly. 

Marlon looked at him disapprovingly "Show some sympathy Louis. C'mon, we're losing daylight." He said, grabbing the rabbit and marching into the undergrowth.

Louis tossed Clementine in the air and caught her, "Looks like you made the team kiddo!" he grinned down at the confused girl. Clemintine gave up on trying to understand this strange group and sunk into Louis' jacket, munching on her chunk again. 

After a while, she finished it and began to crawl over Louis' shoulder, trying to get into her backpack. "Whatca doin there spider-monkey?" He laughed, grabbing her around the waist. 

Clemintine grunted trying to reach for the pack "Gimme!" She demanded, stretching out her arms as far around him as she could. 

Louis set her down and opened the front pouch, "Water bottle, old diapers, shirt, hair ties, pacif-" 

Clementine interrupted him with a squeal "Paci!" She snatched the pink butterfly pacifier from his hands, shoving it into her mouth.

Her daddy had taken it away from her a short while ago, saying she was too old to suck on it but it calmed her down and helped her sleep. 

She grabbed the top of the pack, leaning in and grabbing her teddy then stretching her arms up to be carried again. 

Louis couldn't help himself, he picked her up and squeezed her tightly "You are just so cute!" He gushed.Clemintine leaned her head back down onto his shoulder, letting the swaying motion of walking lull her into a light sleep.

A harsh grating sound woke her up, she lifted her head drowsily she looked around in confusion. 

A giant building loomed ahead of her, the harsh sound coming from a metal gate being shoved open. Louis had moved her so his duster was hiding her from sight. 

Clemintine began to quietly cry, she was hoping that it had been a bad dream and her mommy and daddy would still be there when she woke up. 

A chorus of voices spoke up "Are y'all okay?" "Why are you so late?" "Was there really only three rabbits?" And finally "Who is that?!" Clementine peeked out the side of the duster to find a group of people now staring at her. 

Louis grabbed her and went to set her down but she latched onto him, whining. She didn't know these people, what if they were bad? But Louis was with them so maybe they weren't? Regardless, she now stood in the center of the group with most looking at her with shock before another redhead moved forward.

"Oh, aren't you just the most darlin thing!" She cooed lifting Clementine into her arms, "What's your name pumpkin?" What was a pumpkin? Clementine didn't understand why she called her that but maybe she would stop if she knew Clementines actual name. 

She took out her paci and spoke quietly "I'm Clementine." She immediately replaced it and turned her head into the girl's shoulder to hide her face. 

The girl hugged her tighter "Well Clementine, I'm ruby," she lifted Clementines face toward the group "and these here are Tennessee, Violet, Omar, Mitch, Brody, and Willy." She introduced.

Most smiled or awkwardly waved at her except Mitch who turned to Marlon angrily "What the hell were you thinking bringing her back here?! Her whole group will barge in here guns blazing to get her back." 

Clementine looked at him in confusion "No group." She whimpered around her paci, hoping it cheered him up. 

The teen looked at her in surprise, "What?" He asked, his tone growing cold. 

The little girl looked at him solemly, a look that should never be on someone so young. "Group gone." She mumbled, turning back into Ruby.

The southern girl rocked her "Oh shush now darlin, I'll take you to your new room then. We can have tenn make you a few nice drawings to hang up, won't that look nice?" Clementine nodded, against her and hugged her teddy closer. Maybe this could be her new group.

~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~

Clementine grinned as she sat on Violets lap, eating the stew Omar had made. The blonde had been cold to her at first but had warmed up rather quickly when Clementine had presented her with her very first drawing, which now hung in violets room. 

The older kids were playing a game called 'war' and had included her with Violet telling her if she had won or lost. 

So far she had neither lost or won but by the way Louis was grinning at her, she knew she had won. "Ask away." Marlon smiled. 

Clemintine thought for a moment before glaring at him "Where's bunny?" She scowled, she had never seen the creature after Omar took it.

Violet coughed to hide her laugh while Louis boomed his. Marlon shuffled uncomfortably "He- uh he got better so we let him go." He stammered. Clementine nodded with acceptance, messing with her teddy while they flipped the cards once more. 

"You lost." Violet told her, she huffed turning to look for the winner. Louis grinned at her cheekily before his expression dropped. 

"So, when we met you mentioned your mommy. What happen to your dad?" He spoke sheepishly, he froze as the girl's lip began to tremble. The others glared at him when Clementine burst into tears.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! You don't have to tell me!" He blurted, waving his hands around infront of him as if he could shoo the question from existence. 

Violet flipped him off behind Clementines head before lifting the girl, "Let's get you to bed." She said. Clementine sniffled and nodded, she was tired and now her feelings hurt. When they reached the room, violet went to tuck her in but Clementine clung to her. 

"Song!" She ordered. Violet grinned and stood straight before rocking her gently and singing their song. Sometimes when she sang it, she cried but she told Clementine it was okay and she was just remembering the girl who wrote it. Listening to the errie song, Clementine slipped into sleep. 

A few hours later, a groaning woke her up. She looked around the room in terror, she never liked the dark, she couldn't see walkers in it. Getting out of bed, she started to make her way toward Violet's room to ask if she could sleep there when the groaning became clearer. 

_'Maaarlooon!'_ It creaked, Clementine froze as fear spiked in her chest making her feel sick. 

She took a deep breath, if Marlon was in trouble she needed to protect him. She slipped back in her room, grabbing her mommy's pistol and, tucking it into her waistband, began to follow the groaning.

The sound led her to the cellar, pulling her daddy's crowbar from a nearby table, Clementine jammed it between the doors pulling all of her weight to one side. Just when she was about to give up, the lock gave way and she pushed the latch up, pushing the doors open. 

She crept down the stairs, hearing mumbled whispers all the while, if nothing they told her it wasn't a walker. Her foot brushed against a jar, knocking it over with a clatter. "Who's there?" Marlon's voice cracked, Clementine slowly walked around the shelves and both relaxed at her presence.

"Sweetie, what are you doing out of bed?" Brody asked, her smile strained and wobbling in the dim light of the cellar. 

Clementine looked back at her sternly "Why you in dark? Walkers in dark, go back to bed!" She ordered. 

Marlon chuckled hysterically "Brody and I were just talkin, go get some shut-eye now." It sounded more like a command then a suggestion but 

Clementine didn't move. "Why you fight?" She asked curiously. They were all friends, weren’t they? Friends didn’t fight. 

Marlon's face changed, twisting into a snarl "Go back to bed." He gritted out. 

Brody voice rose behind him "Clem, you're in danger!" 

Marlon whipped around "Brody..." he growled before turning back to Clem "Don't listen to her, she gets like this sometimes, you just gotta tune it out." He told her. 

Clementine ignored him "What wrong Brody?" She asked concerned. Brody swallowed, she just had to let one person know, it didn't matter who. 

"Marlon traded the twins to raiders!" She gasped out, sagging with relief as she finally spilled the long-hidden truth. 

"Damn it Brody!" Clementine had heard of the twins, but everyone said that the walkers had sent them to heaven.

"But walkers?" She asked confusedly, willing her young mind to connect the dots. 

Brody looked at her with shame "That's what we told everyone-!" 

Marlon interrupted her, "Shut up!" He growled, beginning to pace back and forth. Clementine backed away from him, the hair on the back of her neck rising. 

Brody pushed on "Because he was so ashamed-" 

Marlon stalked forward "I said SHUT UP!" He brought the flashlight down on her head with a crack. Clementine flinched, and rushed forward to Brody's side shaking her and asking if she was okay. 

Brody grabbed her hand, "Tell the others sweetie, and tell them he was gonna trade you next." She mumbled before her body began to jerk. Clementine backed away in terror, wondering where Ruby was. Ruby always made them feel better when they were hurt, she’d make Brody feel better too. Right? 

The sound of footsteps caught her attention and she darted after Marlon as he ran on without her. Turning, he slammed the cellar doors shut in her face.

Clementine stared in shock, before beginning to bang on the doors. "Let me out! Let me out!" She wailed, but grew quiet as a familar groaning came from behind. Daddy had warned her that dead people turned into walkers. 

She reached behind her, pulling out the prybar her mommy gave her and moving back into a corner. Walker Brody stumbled into view, pounding against the cellar doors where the storm was making echoing noises. 

Clemintine took a deep breath and carefully walked up behind her, prybar in hand. She threw herself against walker Brody's leg and turned to face her as the dead creature scrambled for a bite.

Lifting the prybar, She brought it down onto the already cracked area of the skull and turned away as the groaning faded. Crying, Clementine moved forward, stuffing her small pudgy hand through the doors to get the latch to the side. 

She pushed the door open and stumbled into the school yard "Where are Brody and Clementine?!" Violets angry voice echoed through the storm. 

"I was just trying to protect you, all of you!" Marlon was shouting, trying to appeal to the kids. Suddenly, Clementine was sitting in the backseat of her parents car, Daddy was facing her while mommy was driving. 

_"It's just a gun sweetie, if you handle it right, nothing bad will happen." He soothed._

_"Hands hurt." She cried, shoving the stinging appendages under her thighs._

_He chuckled at her "It'll hurt to shoot but sometimes you have too, if me or mommy aren't there to help you a walker could kill you." Clementine nodded hesitantly, running a hand along the barrel before gripping it._

_"Remember to aim for the head, thats how you stop walkers." Daddy said._

_Mommy turned down the mirror "And bad people. People who want to hurt or lie to you or your friends have to be stopped."_

A flash of lightening struck her back to the present. Marlon was a bad person, he had hurt Brody, tried to hurt her, and had lied to all their friends like mommy said bad people do. 

She lifted the pistol and hesitated for only a moment before squeezing the trigger. Her body flew back at the recoil, rolling over and over in the mud. Shaking her head free of shock, she climbed back to her feet and looked up. 

Marlon had collapsed, dead, on the ground. "What the fuck?!" Louis shouted, slowly all the kids turned to see her. Their faces were either angry or scared. Clementine didn't understand, she had protected them from the bad person. They should be happy.

"What? I aim for head."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode two

The next morning, Clementine awoke alone. She was confused for a moment, usually Violet or Louis came to wake her up and bring her down to breakfast. It took a few momemts for her memories to come, but then they slammed into her all at once. 

_Clementine looked at the group with hurt as many started yelling at her. "Oh my god!" Omar gasped, his face twisted in horror._

_"We could get medicine, from the nurse's office!" Ruby babbled._

_Mitch stepped forward and snarled at her "He's dead," he jabbed a finger at her, "That kid blew his brains out!" Clementine hunched in on herself, she had just been trying to protect them, to get rid of the bad person among the group._

_Her heart broke as Louis looked down at her in disbelief "You shot him. He's dead. You're a murderer." He choked out as Clemintine shrank down even more._

_Violet moved forward, picking her up protectivly "Back off! She probably didn't even mean to pull the trigger, right sweetie?" Clementine looked at the people around her, she couldn't lie like Marlon, like a bad person._

_"Bad man!" She pointed her chubby finger at the corpse "Trade twins to bad people, no walkers!" The group looked at her blankly and she felt fustration rise in her._

_She was very smart and knew about many things, but her mommy and daddy had been more focused on survival than speech, so she often couldn't talk properly to say what she needed to._

_"Trade twins, what do you mean trade twins?" Aasim asked, his legs still trembling from the ordeal. His eyes were clear and bright, though, peering at her intently._

_Clementine thought hard for a moment before speaking slowly, trying to make it clear to them "Him and Brody fight, find them to ask what wrong. Brody say he trade twins, walkers not kill them and Marlon mad. Hit her head hard, leave me with walker in cellar." She sank back into Violet proudly, that was the most she had ever spoken at once._

_Immediately, Ruby dashed to the cellar doors flinging them open and letting out a shrill scream at the messy sight before her._

_"She's dead!" She sobbed, Aasim rushed to her side supporting her to the main hall._

_He turned to glare at the girl in Violet was holding "Put her in her room, we'll vote tomorrow."_

_Violet's arms tightened around her, "Are you insane?!" She screeched, "She's a baby!"_

_Louis moved forward, looking down at her coldly "She's a killer." He bit out. Violet scoffed and shoved past him, carrying the toddler up the steps to the dorms._

_When they were in her room, Clementine turned to look up as Violet set her on the bed "Was I bad?" She whimpered._

_Tucking the girl under an old blanket, Violet laid a kiss on her forehead, "Go to sleep Clem, everything will be better tomorrow. I promise." She soothed._

But now it was morning and things weren't better. Her door opened and a stonic Louis and defeated Violet slowly walked in. The two moved toward her, Violet picking her up with a sniffle and Louis moving to collect her things. 

"Stop, mine!" She told him angrily, he ignored her and continued to stuff her pack full of items. Worried, Clementine turned to look at a red-faced puffy eyed Violet, "What wrong, Vivi?" She asked timidly. The blonde tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace.

"Nothing sweetie, us three are gonna go on an adventure, okay? Won't that be fun?" Clementine stared at her skeptically. 

"Trouble?", she asked nervously, tapping her fingers together quickly. 

Violet shook her head "No, you're not in trouble Clem." She rasped, "We just thought you might wanna get some fresh air." Her voice got high-pitched and choked at the end. 

Clementine had heard her mommy's voice get like that once, a few weeks ago, before they told her that she wouldn't have a little sibling after all. Nevertheless, she laid her head against the blondes shoulder.

Violet wouldn't lie to her. She had protected her when everyone else was mad and yelling, so she'd protect her now. "Alright, let's go." Louis mumbled, throwing her pack over his shoulder. Violet grabbed her paci and teddy, putting the paci in her mouth and handing her the bear. 

They began to walk through the halls, with Clementine looking at the words in interest, she wondered what they said. As they passed through the courtyard, she waved happily to Ruby and Aasim 

"We go on adventure!" She squealed around her paci. The two stared at her before Ruby suddenly heaved, turning around and vomiting, with Aasim patting her back.

"Ruby?! Are you ok?" She asked, Clementine tried to wiggle to the ground but Violet held fast. 

"She's fine. Just a choice she made not agreeing with her stomach." She hissed, glaring at the redhead. Clementine nodded understandingly, she had eaten something yucky and gotten sick before too. 

Louis and Violet paused as Willy opened the gate then continued onward. After an hour or two, Violet spoke "Clem, you do know how to use that gun right?" She asked, the corners of her eyes crinkling. 

"Mhm, mommy show me, Shoot bad people and walkers!" She replied. 

"Marlon wasn't bad." Louis grumbled. 

Clementine paid him no mind, turning to Violet with a question on her mind, "What is 'raiders'?" She asked innocently. 

Both stopped and looked at her in confusion "They're mean people who steal things, why?" Louis gritted as they started to walk again. 

"Musta stole twins. Brody say raiders have them before Marlon hit her." She said abesentmindedly, unaware of the furious glares the pair shot each other.

Finally, the trio arrived a little ways away from an abandoned road. Violet gently set Clementine down, kissing her cap covered head and handing her the pistol. Clementine looked around the looming forest, this adventure wasn't fun at all. 

She turned back to Violet and lifted her arms "Up Vivi. Home!" The blonde seemed to heave and choke a bit before leaning down to talk to her 

"Not yet Clem, we gotta finish the adventure first." She explained. Clementine huffed in annoyance but nodded grudgingly.

Louis spoke up "We need you to go find the smoothest rocks you can for our new trap. Violet and I will search by the road, you go look in the woods. Okay?" He waited until she nodded before strapping her backpack to her. 

He grabbed a folded piece of paper and pinned it to her shirt. When she looked at him questioningly, he smiled weakly "It's a map, incase you get lost." He whispered. 

She happily patted it before going into the undergrowth in search of the smooth stones they needed.

She was unaware of the gazes that followed her, one full of uncertainty and guilt while the other held grief and regret. "This is so fucked, she's gonna die!" Violet sobbed. Louis felt his stomach churn, but a flash of Marlon's body in his mind steadied it. 

This was for the best, she was dangerous. Both the figures turned, heading away from the road and girl, back to the school that had cast her out.

~~~ 

Clementine grunted, lifting her small handful of rocks into her now stuffed backpack. That was another handful to the...a lot, she had put in. 

Her pack was really heavy, but it still felt like there was less stuff in there than there use to be. She huffed, pulling the straps around her twice so it clung to her small frame. Stumbling, she began to head back to the road, she couldn't wait to show the pair all the stones she had gotten.

She emerged back onto the path they had been on and scanned the road. A bolt of fear spiked through her as she realized she was alone. Where were Violet and Louis? Maybe she had gotten lost and this was the wrong road? 

She pulled the paper from her chest and opened it. Clementine's blood went cold and tears pricked her eyes as she saw nothing but words she couldn't read lay on the paper. What type of map was it? Looking up the path, she hesitantly began walking along it looking every which way for her friends.

"Vivi! Louis!" She cried out "Where you?!" She toddled along the path, weaving in and out of the woods to see if her friends had simply wandered off. Finally, as the sun rose steadily higher, she sat in the middle of a small clearing in the woods. 

She opened her pack, angrily shoving the stones aside to look for her water bottle. Her pistol, drawings, clothes, and prybar greeted her. Where was her food and water? She always had some packed, daddy had told her to do so.

She sat back on her rear, letting the tears of fustration and exhaustion run down her cheeks "Vivi!" She screamed in one last attempt to find the older girl. A harsh bang sounded through the air and the dirt exploded a few feet from her. 

Squeaking, she scrambled to hide in a nearby bush, worried the loud noise would bring walkers. "Now, come on out! I know I heard one of you, and you can't hide forever!" Peeking out from her cover, she saw a man lurking around her clearing.

"Abel!" A strong voice called as a woman stomped into the clearing "What did i tell you about wasting ammo?!" 

The man, Abel, glared at her with weird mismatched eyes. "I heard one of those kids, figured I'd get us a new recruit." He replied, his mismatched eyes narrowing with displeasure. 

The woman scoffed "A new recruit full of holes sounds just lovely." She told him sarcastically. The woman caught sight of her forgotten backpack and walked over to pick it up, shuffling through it, she lifted teddy up and inspected him for a moment before shrugging. 

Clementine froze when she threw teddy to the ground. "No!" She whispered, her gaze stuck to her precious toy before her eyes widened and she slapped both her hands over her mouth. 

The two adults froze, quickly drawing their guns and beginning to turn their heads, searching for the source of the small cry. "Just come on out kid, we won't hurt you." The woman said in a soft, kind, tone. 

Clementine thought for a moment, she didn't like them, they made her feel jumpy like walkers did but she couldn't find Vivi or Louis and it would be dark soon. 

"Water?" She whimpered, the woman's head snapped to her bush hideout, and Abel began to walk toward it. The woman put her arm out to stop him before kneeling down with a smile. 

She reached into her jacket and pulled a circle attached to a strap out. "Here, if you come out, you can have a nice drink from my canteen." She offered, shaking the circle, canteen, so Clementine could hear the sloshing inside. 

She slowly moved forward, they already knew where she was and she couldn't outrun or shoot them besides, if they were giving her water then they must be nice.

Clementine pulled herself free from the bush, and slowly edged toward the two adults. Both their eyes stretched wide at the sight of her, "My god..." Abel breathed, "It's just a squirt, this'll be too easy!" He laughed while the woman simply stared in shock. 

If Clementine knew what it was, she would've seen recognition flash across her face. Clementine froze at the words and the woman shook herself then elbowed his thigh before she looked back at Clementine with a gentle smile and stretched the canteen to her. 

"Here you go sweetie, here's your water." Clementine hesitantly reached toward it and pulled it close, unscrewing the cap and taking a few greedy gulps.

When she finished she sighed and wiped her mouth, clumsily screwing the cap back on and handing the canteen back to the grinning woman. "Feel better?" She asked, attaching it to her jacket. 

Clementine nodded happily "Thank you." She chirped. "Clementine." She said as she walked away from the woman. Briefly Lilly seemed to twitch, like she wanted to reach out and grab her. Clementine walked a few feet away, picking up her teddy and sitting to go through her bag, pulling all the stones out.

Lilly looked at her strangely "So Clementine, if you tell us where your group is, we'd be happy to take you back." 

Clementine shook her head "Don't know, went to get rocks!" She jabbed a finger at the stones accusingly "Lost." She finished. 

Lilly mumbled a curse "Do you have any idea how to get back?" Thinking hard, an idea came to her. Maybe Lilly could understand the map! Clementine reached into her back pocket, grabbing the paper and holding it out to Lily.

She looked at it questioningly before grabbing it and opening it. Her eyes scanned it, and expression became shocked then pleased as she looked back up to Clementine. "Well, it seems you dont have a group after all, but that's fine. If what this note says is true, you'll grow into a fine recruit for ours." She said. 

Looking at her in confusion, she pointed at the paper, "Map to group!" She exclaimed, jabbing it. 

Lilly chuckled "It's not a map, it's a note that says to take care of you." 

Abel snorted "Like hell!", ripping the apparent note away from Lilly to read it. He nodded to Lilly after a moment and grabbed Clementines pack from in front of her. 

Clementine squealed in panic as Lilly suddenly lunged forward, grabbing her and lifting her up and locking her arms around Clemintines arms and legs. She struggled against her "Down! Down!" She hit against the woman. 

Lilly grunted "Keep still kid, unless you wanna wander the woods for a few hours before a walker eats you, then you're coming with us!" Clementine's struggles started to die down, she had wandered around all day and exhausted herself.

Looking around for an escape, she caught sight of Violet and Louis creeping up on the group. "Vivi, save me!" She called to them, Violet shot an arrow, barley aiming and managed to hit Lilly in the shoulder. 

The woman screamed, dropping Clementine who got up and ran away, heading in a random direction. "Vivi!" She yelled, Violet would help her, she knew-! Her side burned with white hot pain as the dirt was blown all over next to her. She collapsed, screaming and wailing, to the ground.

"My side! My side!" She screeched, clutching the wound. What happened? She had been fine a second ago! Lifting her shirt, she saw a bloody wound with multiple holes in it, shiny black things poking out of them. 

She started to jerk, the shock and pain overwhelming her young body. "Fuck, Abel! You better not have killed her!" She heard Lilly call as footsteps rapidly approached her. Dazed, she slowly lowered her head, terror gripping her foggy mind before her world went black. 

Lilly swore as the little girl raced away from her, stumbling into the woods on chubby legs. "Get her!" She shouted at Abel, he nodded and ran ahead. 

She grunted, wrapping her hand around the arrow and pulling it out. "Fuck, little bitch!" She hissed in the direction of the long gone blonde teen. They didn't matter right now, they needed to get Clementine. 

The girl was young and scared, a combination that could get her killed. Lilly couldn't have that, not yet anyway, she recongized that tattered hat, the rusty prybar, and the worn gun along with the amber eyes. Ed and Diana.

It seemed the two had gotten busy since leaving her on the side of the road to die. Lilly knew the two, they were both fools with hearts that loved too much. 

If this really was their daughter, then Lilly could use her to lure them out and if they had already died, well, revenge in the form of molding their precious child into a hardened soldier? Just as sweet.

A bang from ahead caused her head to jerk up, that was Abel's gun. Growling in anger, Lilly rushed toward the sound, he'd be sorry if he had killed her new protege. 

Hearing the highpitched wailing of a child tugged at her heartstrings, she was a soldier not heartless, the sound of small children in pain still hit her hard. 

She shook the feeling off, and her eyes widened as she took in the bleeding crumbled form of the child. "Fuck Abel! You better not have killed her!" She growled.

Moving forward, she lifted the small girl into her arms, feeling relief at her breatheing. "C'mon, we need to get back to the boat to treat this." She snapped at Abel, still fustrated over his trigger happy attitude. 

He nodded and began marching in the direction of their ship with an unhappy air about him. Lilly hesitantly grabbed Clementines teddy bear and tucked it against her before following after Abel.

After a long walk, they were heading up the dock "Minnie!" She shouted as she walked into the ship. Footsteps quickly sounded and a few moments later, the redhead appeared around a corner. Lilly had been waiting for this "This is Clementine, our newest recruit. She was with your old group but it seems she killed Marlon so they abandoned her to die in the woods." She said sweetly. 

Minnie flinched "The-They wouldn't do that to a child!" She scoffed but Lily saw doubt flicker across her eyes and grinned cruelly. 

"Give her the note, Abel." He grumbled and passed it to Minnie who snatched it from his hand, reading it frantically. 

"Oh my god, what have they done?" She asked, staring, horrified, at Clementine.

Lilly smirked "Take her to a cell and treat her wound. Let me know when she's strong and settled, her and I desperately need to have a conversation." Minnie's skin crawled but nonetheless, she let the girl get passed to her. 

Cradling the baby, she gently carried her up to a room rather than a cell and laid her on a bed. Clementine tossed in fever, her body fighting infection. 

Minnie petted her head in pity but her hand froze as three tiny words escaped the child "Vivi, night song" she mumbled. Minnie swallowed hard, and gathered her supplies, softly singing as she began to treat the shrapnel.

"Never mind the darkness..."

 

"Fuck, Fuck, _FUCK_!" Violet shouted as she and Louis made it past the gates of the school. The other kids crowed around at her calls. 

"Violet?" Ruby called "hey what's going on!?" Violet looked back up at the group, sobbing pitifully, she angrily shove Louis' comforting hand off her shoulder. 

"She's dead, they killed her." She croaked. Shocked gasps echoed around the small group. 

"Walkers got her?" Tenn asked, folding his hands in front of him. 

Violet shook her head "Raiders. They shot her." She collapsed, wrapping her hands up in her hair.

Louis was pacing "It-it wasn't our fault, We didn't know the raiders were lurking!" He insisted, twisting his hands around chairles. 

Violet glared at him with red eyes "It's because of you all, she was out there in the first place!" She growled. 

The group shuffled, their heads hanging in ashamed silence before a voice spoke out from beyond the gate. 

"They'll be back." 

The group startled, Mitch and Violet pulling their weapons to aim at the teen standing outside their gate. "Who are you? Why are you here?" Louis demanded.

"I'm James and i want to help."

~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~ *Two weeks later*~~~~~~ Clementine jumped on hers and Minnies bed excitedly, Minnie said that the others were going to come tonight and then they'd all go to a new place where they'd get to be safe. 

Hands caught her waist as Minnie stopped her mid-jump, "Gotcha, Bullet!" She cried, flipping the girl onto her back and blowing a raspberry on her stomach. 

Clementine squealed, kicking away and laughing, she patted the bouncy red hair "Tag, I hide!" And darted around the room to hide.

Minnie laughed and pretended not to see the obvious Clem-Shaped blanket infront of her. She was about to tag the girl back when a cough sounded at the door. Her blood cooled as she turned to face her commander "Yes ma'ma?" 

Lilly looked at her sternly, "Dismissed." She tossed her head towards the door. 

Minnie opened her mouth to object "Bu-!" 

"I said dismissed, soldier." Lilly snapped, Minnie glanced back at the now quiet lump and then nodded, vanishing out of the door.

Lilly approached the bed, sitting on the foot of it "Out, Cadet." She ordered. Slowly, a mass of curls and two amber eyes were revealed. Lilly smiled softly "Are you excited that your friends are coming?" 

Clementine nodded happily and Lilly smirked behind her sweet facade. The little mite had never figured out the school kids had abandoned her, thinking instead that she had gotten lost and hurt by the gunshot. 

They had convinced her that Abel was aiming for a walker that was sneaking up on her, it really was a stroke of luck that shock had blurred her last few minutes of the ordeal.

"Well how would you like to come with us then? Maybe you can help convince them that it's a nice place here." Lilly offered. 

She grinned as the little girl jumped up, running to her pack and pulling out her old clothes "Yeah! See Vivi and Louis! Ruby, simmy..." Lilly tuned her out as she simply watched the girl change out of her night gown. 

She turned her head to give her some privacy but only a few moments passed when she felt fabric being shoved at her, "Dress?" Clementine asked.

Lilly looked at her sternly "Dress what, cadet?" She asked, her face pinching in a frown. 

Clementine furrowed her brows before her her face lit with understanding, "Dress, please!" She chirped. 

"Good girl." Lilly praised pulling the old outfit onto Clementine before picking her up and setting her on her hip. "We've got a very special place just for you to ride in!" She told the girl sweetly, "but when we get there, you've gotta say a very important thing, okay?" "Help me!"

—— 

Violet looked at the group infront of her, they had been preparing for weeks to take on the raiders, with her personally claiming Abels death. No amount of preparing, however, prepared her for the shot to Omar's leg. 

She rushed forward, grabbing him under the arms and pulling him to safety before ducking to cover. The gate burst open, and raiders filed in. "Spread out and take them all.", the woman growled.

Louis crept along with Mitchs bomb in his hands, willy and Mitch behind him. Slowly but surely, he made his way to the end of the carriage and placed the bomb inside. Willy excitedly lit the flare and both backed away, just as Louis turned to run a flash caught his eye. 

He turned his head, looking in horror at the wide amber eyes staring at him from the back corner of the carriage. "Help me!" Clementine cried out, reaching her arm towards him. 

"Fuck!" Louis swore, he reached for the latch but Mitch grabbed his shoulders and yanked him back behind the stone wall just as the bomb went off.

"SHIT! No, no, no! Cadet, are you okay?! Keep your guns trained, I'll get her." She ordered the guards before rushing over to the burning end of the carriage, ignoring the neighing horse. 

She breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled an unconscious but breatheing Clementine free. 

Turning to the court yard she began to speak. "If your so-called leaders won't help me then I'll find someone who will, we've recruited from here before." She grinned.

"Y'know, Minnie wanted to be here tonight, said she had a girlfriend she wanted to see, and a guy who could always make her laugh. And let's not forget her sweet little brother, she missed him the most." Tenn's head shot up. 

He tried to move forward but James grabbed him, restricting him tightly. Lilly waited for a moment before her welcoming act fell. "Well than, we tried to be nice. Little Clementine here has just been going on and on about how 'Vivi' and Louis would come get her." She nodded to Marcus to move toward a stone wall as movement caught her eye.

Lilly slowly lifted her Cadet to where the tiny head was laying on her shoulder and put her gun to it. "Would be a shame if her brains got blown out before she found out you all left her to die." Of course, she had no intention of actually shooting her protege but they didn't know that. 

The blonde archer popped up infront of her "You wouldn't dare." She snarled, notching an arrow. 

Lilly smiled as she heard two of the boys being shoved into the carriage. "Is it a risk your willing to take? She's not that useful this young, you know. More trouble than she's worth." She pressed the gun harder watching as the blonde tensed even more.

"Kill who you need to and take the rest!" She ordered, going to the spare carriage and setting Clementine into it with the wounded boy and healthy one. 

Hmph, she'd have to find a punishment for Dorian for that bullet wound later. 

A yelp caused her to jerk her head to the side. Marcus was twisting on the ground, an arrow in his thigh. "Fall back, now!" The blonde yelled. The others rushed into the main building while Lilly and Dorian kept watch for any stragglers.

A commotion seemed to be going on but she ignored it, instead watching as the boys in the cart shook and prodded Clementine. It was true that the little girl was a drain on resources for now, but if trained properly, she would grow into a fine soldier for Delta. 

Besides if their attitudes were any indication, she could be used to keep the new recruits in line. She looked up in shock as two figures crashed down from the balcony, she rushed forward and switched to her rifle, aiming it at the blondes head.

"I'll see you in hell!" The pest sneered, "You'll be there a long while before me." Lilly snarled squeezing the trigger. Before she could shoot a weight slammed into her. 

It was a young african american, the boy was trying to over power her, at the same time Dorian grabbed the Minerva's little brother. Violet whipped her head back and forth, closing her eyes and taking aim. She fired the arrow. 

Lilly kicked the boy off of her, rolling to her feet, she grabbed the back of his jacket and hauled him into the carriage. "Cut our losses, Fall back!" She yelled, turning to throw a Molotov down to keep any of the kids from following them. She glared angrily at the blonde, Violet it had to have been Violet, before turning to follow her people.

Violet stared at the wreckage of her home. This was a disaster, three of her people gone, Clementine kidnapped and walkers pouring in. A quick problem solved by James expert throws and a shut gate, but the multiple others still wore her down. 

She glanced to Tenn who sat hunched on the ground and sighed. There was no time to deal with him tonight, she had to organize something. Anything to get her mind going on plans. A warm hand on her shoulder caught her attention and she looked into Ruby's steel eyes.

"Don't worry Vi, we'll get em' back" God, she hoped so.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so since it was Ed and Diana that Lee found things changed up a bit. They basically replace Clementine in all the other seasons. In savannah Lee got bit in crawford saving molly, Ben and Chuck died in the street and Omid, Christa and Kenny traveled with them. They were heading to Wellington when the bandits attacked, chasing away Omid and leaving the other four to stumble upon the cabin group. Shit with carver went down essentially the same, but Rebecca died in the night. We're gonna skip S3 and say that the remaining members were traveling together with Kenny and Jane being controlled by the others. Soon after finding out Diana was pregnant, a group of scavangers killed Jane and Kenny with a herd brought by the gunfire swarming Christa and AJ.


End file.
